STARKVILLE — Some things never change.
That’s why members of the Mississippi State baseball team aren’t shying away from the expectations many have for this season’s squad.
“Any time you are at a program like Mississippi State, there’s going to be high expectations from the fans, from the media,” MSU senior shortstop Seth Heck said. “That’s just something you have to deal with as a player. I think it’s a great problem to have.”
But while hopes surrounding MSU’s 2015 season remain high — coach John Cohen has taken the Bulldogs to four-straight NCAA Regional appearances — the weight of those expectations might not be as crushing as they were a year ago, when MSU entered the season on the heels of the most successful season in school history.
This time last year, the Bulldogs were ranked in the preseason top 10 of nearly every major national poll, including a No. 8 in Baseball America. A stellar 2013 campaign that saw the Bulldogs win 50 games for the first time under Cohen and make it to the College World Series Championship Series fueled the anticipation. The result was a 39-24 record and an appearance in the NCAA Regional at Louisiana-Lafayette that fell short of most prognostications.
A season removed from playing for a national title, MSU enters the season without the burden of following up one of the greatest seasons in school history.
Has that changed the expectations in MSU’s locker room?
“I wouldn’t say we were trying to live up to it,” MSU senior first baseman Wes Rea of the 2013 CWS trip. “Every year going into the season, that’s our expectation. That’s our goal. Whenever you don’t meet that goal, then you didn’t get it done. This year, it’s the same goal. It’s always the same. Try to get to Omaha and win it.”
MSU will begin that journey this weekend with its four games. MSU will meet Cincinnati at 4 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. It also will play Miami University at noon Saturday.
For Cohen, MSU’s long-term goals are irrelevant. All that matters is getting on the field to start the new campaign.
“Our kids are really excited about playing somebody else,” Cohen said. “We have done a lot of drill work. Our kids have worked hard in the weight room and in conditioning — all of the stretching, all of the rehab type of things you have to do to get ready for a season. I think we are in pretty good shape. Our kids are mentally in a really good place and physically as well.”
For MSU’s players, the excitement the 2013 team rekindled remains and will motivate the Bulldogs to get back to Omaha.
“I feel like a lot of people on our team have kind of a chip on our shoulder,” said right-handed pitcher Preston Brown, expected to be MSU’s Friday night starter in Southeastern Conference play. “We have a mixture. We have a handful of guys who played on that team, but we have others who were on the team but didn’t play. I was on that team but didn’t play that much. The majority of this team is probably tired of hearing about that team. We want to make a name for ourselves. We have that chance this year.”
To do that, MSU will need to replace several key components, including second baseman Brett Pirtle, MSU’s leading hitter a year ago. In his place will be Florida State transfer John Holland, who Cohen calls “a dynamic athlete.”
MSU also will have to replace former All-America closer Jonathan Holder, MSU’s career leader in saves, and bullpen ace Jacob Lindgren. The Bulldogs will rely on senior Trevor Fitts, who started 16 games a year ago, as closer and left-hander Vance Tatum as a shut-down reliever.
“We’ve got some guys who are really going to break out this year,” Heck said. “John Holland is a great baseball player, and I think this team has a lot of great arms that people will find out about.”
Heck hasn’t changed his outlook for this season. Asked what would make for a successful season in Starkville, Heck didn’t hesitate.
“A national championship,” Heck said. “That’s it.”
But while the Bulldogs remain confident, outside observers haven’t heaped praise on them the way they did last season. Of the major collegiate baseball polls, MSU checks in at an average position of No. 21. The highest ranking is No. 14 by Baseball America.
For players like senior Ross Mitchell, who is 24-5 in his career, the polls don’t matter.
“That’s fine with us,” Mitchell said. “We know as a team what we are capable of. We know what we work for. I know we have a team that can go back. Our fans are going to be there with us no matter what. That’s just the kind of fans we have. But we know we can be a very good team.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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